2nd Greenwich resident tests positive for West Nile

Lisa Chamoff

Updated 4:01 pm, Thursday, September 6, 2012

Allen Richardson knows it's a cliche, but he wouldn't wish his recent illness on his worst enemy.

Richardson is the second Greenwich resident to test positive for West Nile virus.

"You feel like you have a very bad case of the flu," said the 62-year-old from Old Greenwich. "Like all of us, I had the flu from time to time. I was pretty sure I didn't have the flu because there wasn't the runny nose. It's close to frightening because you just don't know what's wrong with you."

The Greenwich Department of Health reported the case Wednesday. He is the seventh person in the state reported to have contracted the virus this year. The other human cases include two in Stamford, one in Bridgeport and one in New Haven.

Richardson contacted Greenwich Time about his illness. The state and local health departments do not release personal information about people who contract diseases.

Richardson said he started feeling ill, with a fever, aches, pains and stiffness, on Aug. 11. He was sick for a few days, then traveled to Ohio to visit family. There, he visited the emergency room after developing a rash. When he returned to Connecticut, he saw his doctor, who told Richardson a blood test had shown antibodies to the West Nile virus.

Last week, the state Department of Public Health announced an elderly Greenwich resident, between 70 and 79 years old, had tested positive for West Nile and was hospitalized.

"This second case of human illness demonstrates that West Nile virus presents a serious risk to human health when it becomes intensified in the community," Greenwich Health Director Caroline Calderone Baisley said in a statement.

Most people are able to fight off the infection, and they experience either mild symptoms, such as headache and fever, or no symptoms at all, according to health officials. The virus can cause serious illness in some people, particularly the elderly.

Calderone Baisley said mosquitoes infected with the virus have only been found in the mosquito collection site located near the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center in Old Greenwich. The town also has trapping sites off Lake Avenue and in Mianus River Park.

Richardson said he hadn't noticed any unusual mosquito bites, but said the mosquito population did seem larger this summer than it has in the past.

State officials said last week that the virus built up rapidly very early this year due to the heat wave and the frequent rainfall that created ideal breeding spots for mosquitoes, but that it seems to be on the decline.

The mosquito population will go down as the weather gets cooler, and the threat of West Nile will cease after the first frost, Calderone Baisley said.

There were nine human cases reported last year, including one in Greenwich and two in Stamford. There were 11 cases in 2010, including one in Greenwich -- an 81-year-old woman battled the illness for three months before recovering.

People, particularly those 50 and older, are advised to limit outdoor activities between dusk and dawn -- when mosquitoes are most active -- and to wear pants and long-sleeved shirts, as well as mosquito repellent when outside during those times.

The town health department is asking all parks, playgrounds, golf courses and other areas that support public gatherings and public recreation activities to close a half-hour before dusk and re-open no earlier than a half-hour after sunrise to help reducing the public's exposure to West Nile. The department is also asking all restaurants that offer outside dining to end it a half-hour before dusk.

"These restrictions will only be temporary as the environmental conditions within the community will change," Calderone Baisley said.